Thursday, August 16, 2007

Oh, Happy Day!

It was indeed a happy day yesterday - one of the best.

In true Leo style, I start celebrating a week before my birthday and keep blowing out candles for for at least a week after the date.

I was deeply touched by each and every one of the comments I received. But, hey, there wasn't an embarrassing one in the batch. I thought for sure that at least Piper Robert would come forward with a blush-inducing tale. His "I saw Grandma spank Sue" teaser reminds me of the line from Cold Comfort Farm: "I saw something nasty in the woodshed." I'm sure many of you are thinking, "Enough already. What did you SEE?"

So in honor of my Leo-brother's birthday on August 19, I have added him as a contributor to this blog. He may use his powers for good or for embarrassment as he sees fit. But, don't forget: I have the power to delete or remove him (or Paula) at the stroke of a key.

My plea for comments did coax a couple of dear friends out of the woodwork. I still have a few BFFs and many readers who haven't posted. But I know you're all thinking about me and have sent cards, phone calls and emails in lieu of the coveted comment. I treasure all of these as well.

Later today I'll round up the captions and post them so that you can help me weigh in on the winner. If you haven't yet posted a caption, there's still time to compete for the bagpipe solo serenade. The consolation prize is an accordion solo. (Just kidding about the accordion, but the bagpipe and accordion must be the two most dreaded instruments on the planet. You either love 'em or hate 'em.)

PS For anyone following the comments thread: The actual date for VJ Day is confusing because August 14 was the US date, but August 15 was the date in Japan. That's why my Japanese friends linked my birthday to this historic date. My parents were married in Japan and always had the same dilemma about when to celebrate their anniversary.

2 comments:

Oh Susan, regardless of which day your birthday falls on I am so embarassed that I forgot it. I have no excuse excepting to beg your forgiveness and send a large gift to you. Do you still like lemon drops?

Hmmmm........I see a pattern developing. Did you know the accordion is a VERY popular instrument in Scotland? Yes, I have accordion music. Would you like me to email you some? I must agree with you about your bagpipe observations. Bagpipes are a very powerful instrument.......powerfully good or powerfully bad. I strive to play in tune and on the beat, with crisp embellishments. The crunluath doubling variation of Struan Robertson's Salute is hair raising stuff.

Thank you for a wonderful birthday present. A contributor, WOW! My first yarn will be the spanking story. A true classic Ninnie Choo Choo story.

Love ya!!!

p.s. Just curious. What instrument would be number three on your love/hate list?

My team at the City of Hope decided to bring out the big guns - six rounds of Hyper CVAD followed by an autologous stem cell transplant. I bounced back after each round of chemo, but my blood counts didn't.

After four rounds we called chemo quits and started collecting stem cells for the auto stem cell transplant. The harvesting took three tries, two drugs and eight weeks, but I finally eked out the minimum two million stem cells.

After megadoses of chemo, I received my stem cells on November 14 and 15, 2007. I bounced back almost immediately. Best of all, I achieved complete remission from the Mantle Cell Lymphoma.

In January 2008, I was hospitalized for 11 days for chemo-induced pneumonia. I bounced back.

In the summer of 2008, my eosinophils (a component of the white blood cells) rose to dangerous levels and infiltrated my lungs and GI tract. My weight dropped to 105 pounds, and I was incapacitated for nearly three months. Once again, I bounced back.

I continue to make monthly visits to the City of Hope for blood tests and check ups, quarterly visits for maintenance Rituxan and semi-annual visits for scans.

I'm still in remission and have more energy than ever. And about that perfect purse? I keep looking.